An overflow audience of about 150 people turned out
Wednesday night for a San Francisco City Hall forum on the city's
growing crystal methamphetamine problem, which experts say is
helping fuel rising HIV infection rates among gay and bisexual
men. The hearing follows a city Health Department report that at
one high-risk clinic, up to 30 percent of those with new HIV
infections reported crystal meth use in the previous six months.
State health officials also found that gay male Californians who
use speed are twice as likely to be HIV-positive than gay
nonusers, and men on speed are less likely to use condoms.

Experts warned that scarce health resources need to be put
toward counseling and prevention because mental health problems
underlie many people's decision to use speed.

Because state and municipal budget problems are forcing
Health Department officials to make deep cuts, some were not
optimistic that more resources will be forthcoming. "I fear our
waiting lists [for treatment and counseling] are just going to
get longer," said Michael Siever, director of the Stonewall
Project, a speed recovery program for gay men at University of
California-San Francisco. Steve Tierney, director of HIV
prevention for the Department of Public Health, said "smarter
use" of dwindling health care dollars would be needed.

City Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who called the hearing, said he
would be asking business leaders to contribute money for
treatment programs as well as seeking advice from younger gay men
on solutions. One proposal was to create 24-hour sober centers
where gay and bisexual men struggling with speed can drop in and
socialize and get peer counseling. Dufty said Wednesday night was
only the beginning of the discussion. "As a community, we have to
define that crystal is not acceptable for this community," said
Dufty.

This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
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